Download Reconstruction 1863-1877

Reconstruction
1863-1877
Reconstruction involved:
• 1. The terms / conditions by which the defeated
states would be restored to the Union (who should
decide on these – President? Congress?)
and
• 2. Determining the status - political, social,
economic - of the 4 million liberated slaves /
Freedmen
Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan /
Presidential Reconstruction
• Believed that he, not Congress, should control
Reconstruction
• Believed that the South had not legally withdrawn
from the union (it had not been allowed to do so), so
Reconstruction should be swift and with little, if any,
punishment
• He was by nature forgiving, compassionate, generous –
he preferred forgiveness and leniency towards the
South, rather than promote continued bitterness
• Began his Reconstruction plan before the war ended, in
Dec. 1863, when he issued his Proclamation of
Amnesty and Reconstruction
• All Southerners, except high ranking Confederate
officials, could obtain a full pardon and restoration of
all their rights after taking an oath that pledged future
loyalty to the Union and acknowledged the end of
slavery (Emancipation Proclamation).
• High ranking Confederate leaders, military and civilian,
had to apply for a “Special Amnesty”, but he indicated
that he would easily grant these pardons
• When 10% of the voters in a given state had taken this
oath, these citizens could vote in elections to form a new
state government, and elect a constitutional convention
to write a new state constitution which recognized
Emancipation
• These newly Reconstructed states would then be eligible
to be fully admitted to the Union and to send
representatives to Congress
• This became known as Lincoln's 10% Plan.
• His plan did not include general imprisonment (Davis
and high ranking leaders were imprisoned but released
before their 2 year sentences), land confiscation or
distribution, and also did not include mention of race
relations / the status of freedmen after Emancipation.
• He felt these questions could be deferred until later. The
status of the freedmen did not concern him at this time –
his main objective was restoring the union as soon as
possible
• Restoring the union was his main concern in fighting
the war – and it remained his main concern now
(rapid / swift reconstruction)
• By December 1864, Tennessee, Arkansas,
Louisiana, and Virginia, had complied with his plan
and he declared them to be Reconstructed and back in
the Union
• the process of restoring the South to the Union, with
maximum speed and with a minimum of federal
intervention, had begun
Republican Reconstruction Plan
• Many Republicans felt his plan was too lenient / too
forgiving
• Most felt that the South had indeed left the union; they
should come back in as “conquered provinces” –they had
forfeited all their rights; the terms of return should be
stricter, on such terms as Congress, not Lincoln should
decree
• Republicans were split between
– Moderates who wanted a swift return of the South – but under
Congress’s terms and more punishment, some protection for
Freedmen by the States (majority)…
– Radicals who wanted a slower return, more punishment, more
protection for Freedmen, more use of Federal Power to protect
Freedmen in the future (minority)
• Republicans in Congress put forward an alternative
plan to Lincoln’s - outlined in the Wade-Davis Bill:
in each of the conquered states, 50 +% would have
to take the oath of allegiance before readmission
 then elections could be held for conventions to
write constitutions that would accept the end of
slavery, the disenfranchising of Confederate civil
and military leaders (for a longer period than
Lincoln planned), and repudiating debts
accumulated by the states during the war.
• Congress Passed the Bill in July 1864. But Lincoln
disposed of it with a pocket veto - neither approved or
disapproved, letting it expire with the end of the
session.
• His actions enraged Congress who then refused to
seat the representatives from the four Reconstructed
states
• Stalemate between Lincoln and Congress….then
Lincoln was assassinated (some Radicals were not too
upset by his death)
• Before his death his views were evolving – he talked
about compromise with the Radicals on the terms of
admission of the Southern states
• He also indicated that he realized that re-colonization was
unrealistic, and favored citizenship / vote for intelligent /
educated freedmen, those who fought for the Union and
those who owned property
• He supported the Radicals when they proposed the first
of the Civil War Amendments, the 13th Amendment,
abolishing slavery
Andrew Johnson
• Gave the impression to the Republicans that he favored
their Reconstruction Plan – they felt that he would be
spiteful towards the Southern planters whom he
professed to hate, and also that he would want to be
tough in Reconstructing the South
• But he soon disappointed them - began to implement a
plan almost identical to Lincoln’s: 10% of the
voters…..but in addition with acceptance of the new 13th
Amendment, and repudiation of war debts….then they
could re-join the Union
• Expanded the numbers who had to apply for Special
Pardons, but granted these liberally - he enjoyed
seeing them come and beg for his favor (up to
20,000 – wants white Aristocracy back in control in
South – Johnson issues a decree restoring all land /
“abandoned land” / confiscated property from
Freedmen to Planters)
• All 11 Southern States became Reconstructed under
his plan – but again the Radicals, whose numbers
were increasing with each election, refused to admit
their representatives to Congress (refused to include
them in roll call, so technically they were not there /
recognized)
• “Yet the man who had raised himself from the tailor’s
bench to the president’s chair was a misfit. A southerner
who did not understand the North, a Tennessean who
had earned the distrust of the South, a Democrat who
had never been accepted by the Republicans, a president
who had never been elected to the office, he was not at
home in a Republican White House. Hotheaded,
contentious, and stubborn, he was the wrong man in the
wrong place at the wrong time. A Reconstruction policy
devised by angels might well have failed in his tactless
hands.” (text)
• They opposed his Plan for the same reasons they opposed
Lincoln’s but, in addition, they were furious that the South
had sent to Congress so many former Confederate leaders
• These included 6 Confederate cabinet officers, 4
Confederate generals, 5 Confederate colonels, and many
members of the Confederate congress, inc. vice President of
the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens (who had won the war,
they asked?)
• Republicans were concerned also that the South would have
more power in Congress – former slaves would now be
counted equally (five fifths, not three fifths) when
determining representation – giving it 12 more seats in
Congress / 12 more electoral votes - Democrats could
dismantle Republican policies (Bank, Tariffs….)
• They were just as angry with the defiance shown in the
South by the enacting of the Black Codes (Read
Louisiana Black Code). Contradicted 13th Amendment /
Emancipation achieved by bloody Civil War, might be
maintained if Democrats regained power
• These Codes restored slavery in everything but name,
limiting the freedom of the former slaves; regulating
their lives - movement, employment, living areas, arms,
assembly..
• The Black Codes sought:
– to ensure a stable and subservient labor force to resurrect the
crushed Cotton Kingdom
– to restore as nearly as possible the pre-emancipation system of
race relations
• Radical Republicans, whose numbers were increasing with
each election, refused to admit Southern representatives to
Congress elected under Johnson’s Plan
• They were determined that Congress would take over
Reconstruction, removing it from the jurisdiction of the
Johnson administration.
• The Radicals were growing in numbers had also become
more Radical in their views about citizenship and legal
equality for Freedmen, esp. Sumner and Stevens – Stevens,
upset about the growth of Sharecropping advocated a
radical program of drastic Economic reform (land grants)
and protection of political rights for freedmen
Republican Reconstruction Plan
• 1. Set up a Joint Committee on
Reconstruction
to investigate conditions in the South and make recommendations
Decided that before Southern states were restored, there must be
assurances that the former Confederates had accepted their defeat
and that emancipated blacks and loyal whites would be protected,
and that the Black Codes were repealed. The Committee reported
that these conditions were not being met.
It reported that the South continued to be hostile, defiant and
resisted change…..racism was still very strong
• 2. Introduced a bill to extend the Freedman's Bureau in
1866
• an agency set up by Congress in 1865 (expired in 1872)
under Oliver Howard to provide immediate relief to the
Freedmen and to white refugees: food, clothing, medicine,
later schools, and to some, “40 acres and a mule”:
• a kind of “primitive welfare agency” – achieved its greatest
success in education, teaching an estimated 200,000
freedmen to read
• regarded by southern whites as a meddlesome federal
interloper that threatened to upset white racial dominance
• To the outrage of the Republicans, Johnson vetoed the bill –
at this stage could not get a two thirds vote of both houses to
over-ride the veto
• 3. Introduced and passed a Civil Rights Bill in
March 1866 (to counter the Black Codes).
• Aim of the Bill was to counter the Black Codes. It
defined all persons born in the US (except Native
Americans) as citizens, and specified the rights of
citizens to equality before the law.
Johnson vetoed the Bill but this time Republicans,
were able to override the veto (increased numbers)
From here on Congress assumed the dominant role in
running the government and Reconstruction
• 4. The 14th Amendment, embodying the principles of
the Civil Rights Act into the Constitution (to make
it almost impossible for Democrats to overthrow it
in the future), was proposed and passed.
Conferred Civil Rights to Freedmen, including
citizenship but excluding the franchise (to the
disappointment of the more Radical Republicans –
moderates hesitates on this issue, conceded later)
Left it to the States to decide on Voting Rights
To encourage the States to enfranchise Freedmen , it
reduced state representation in Congress and the
Electoral College if the vote was not granted
• disqualified from federal and state office, former
Confederates who as federal officeholders had once
sworn to support the constitution of the USA
• guaranteed the federal debt while repudiating all
Confederate debts
• The 14th Amendment would now have to be accepted
by Southern states before Reconstruction
• Johnson encouraged the South to reject the Radicals
Plan (all did except for Tennessee)
• He also tried to jeopardize the Radicals influence in
Congress by campaigning for Conservative
candidates in the 1866 Congressional elections;
• but he did the own cause more harm than good by the
intemperate, brawling, drunken speeches he made on
his tour (a “swing around the circle” as it was called)
from Washington to Chicago and back. (he was a
successful vote-getter - for the opposition)
• In the Federal elections of 1866-1867), an
overwhelming majority of Radical Republicans were
returned to both houses (had a two thirds of seats in
both houses.
• They confidently looked forward to the struggle with
Johnson that would take place when Congress reassembled in December 1866 and to the final victory
over the President
• 5. Congress passed the Wade Davis Bill. 50% + of
voters in each state would have to take the Oath of
Allegiance to the Union and accepting the 13 and 14th
Amendments before readmission to the Union
• President Johnson showed his hostility by threatening
to fire his Sec. of War, Edwin Stanton, who supported
Radical Reconstruction
• In response Congress passed the Tenure of Office
Act: the President could not dismiss members of his
Cabinet without Congressional / Senate approval
• Congress also passed the Command of the Army Act
to prevent Johnson moving troops from the South: he
could not issue orders directly to the army: he had to do
so through Gen. Grant (who could not be dismissed
under the Act) who was supportive of the Radicals
• Johnson defied the Tenure of Office Act by suspending
and then dismissing Stanton. The House then voted to
impeach him
• But the Senate was one vote short of the necessary twothirds majority (35-19) so Johnson survived, but was
much diminished and afterwards was no longer a factor:
his open opposition to Radical Reconstruction ended
• The Supreme Court, under Chief
Justice Salmon P. Chase (right), had, in
a decision, Ex Parte Milligan, declared
Military Tribunals unconstitutional in
places where Civilian Courts existed
• In response the Radicals proposed
legislation that would require:
• Two thirds decision by Supreme Ct in
future
• Reduce justices to three
• To deny Ct. jurisdiction in the South
• Discussed abolishing the Court
• This was enough to intimidate the Supreme Court into
staying out of Reconstruction issues and so the Radicals
didn’t have to pursue the Bill
• The Supreme Court and Pres. Johnson had been
silenced / marginalized, making it easier for the
Radicals to pursue their plan
• 6. The (Military) Reconstruction Act of 1867.
• Because of Race Riots in many Southern cities, military
districts were set up and conditions laid down for
readmission of the seceding states:
• The South was divided into 5 Military Districts, each with
a military commander, with military tribunals serving as
courts, supported by federal troops – to prepare the South
for readmission (“military Reconstruction”)
• A registration of voters was to be compiled, which was to
include all black adult males and those white males who
were not disqualified by participation in the rebellion.
• If 50% + of the voters in each state agreed to take an oath
of loyalty to the Union and accept the 13th and 14th
Amendments, then, a Constitutions could be written and
new state legislatures elected, as well as Representative to
the Federal Government (Wade Davis Bill)
• By 1868, seven more (added to Tennessee) of the former
Confederate states (Arkansas, N. Carolina, S. Carolina,
Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida) had complied with
the process of restoration (“prodded by federal bayonets”)
and were readmitted to the Union
• 7. 15th Amendment
 By 1869 Congress had added an additional
requirement for readmission – ratification of the 15th
Amendment, which gave the vote to all citizens (the
states and Fed Govt. could not deny the vote to any
citizen on account of "race, color, or previous
condition of servitude”)
 VA and Texas complied in 1869, and were admitted,
and Mississippi did so in 1870 – the Union was now
complete / re-united again